Evaluation of Our Cases of Foreign Body in Various Anatomical Regions of the Body

Abstract

Aim: It can be quite difficult to remove foreign bodies located within soft tissue. The location needs to be defined for the procedure to be successful. The aim of this study was to present our cases where a foreign body had been detected and then removed from various anatomical regions. Material and Method: This article is about the evaluation results of our foreign body cases referred to the Kafkas University Faculty of Medicine from the Family Medicine practices in Kars and the surrounding regions. The charts of 15 patients who had presented to the General Surgery or Orthopedics and Traumatology Departments of the Kafkas University Faculty of Medicine after being referred from the emergency or outpatients departments between November 2015 and July 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The demographic findings, surgical treatment and results, etiological causes and postoperative complications of the patients were recorded. Follow-up duration was 6 months to 3 years depending on the patient's condition. Results: There were 8 male and 7 female patients. The mean age was 30.79 years. The symptoms were pain, redness, swelling, itching and serous or purulent discharge for foreign bodies in the hand, foot, femur-tibia soft and bone tissue areas and acute abdomen symptoms in the patient where we found an intra-abdominal foreign body. The imaging methods used were conventional radiography and computed tomography. Treatments included removal of needle from soft tissue, bullet fragment from bone intramedullary tissues and intrauterine device from transverse colon meso. We also observed the rectal passage with feces of an intestinal intraluminal metallic device after it was swallowed. There was only one complication among all our patients and consisted of partial radial nerve damage. Conclusion: Foreign bodies should be located with imaging methods and removed under sterile conditions in the operating room. Early detection and removal of foreign bodies from anatomical regions are vital.

Key Words: Foreign body, Radio-opaque, Soft Tissue

DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/7-04-01